Homemade gifts

We try to live on a very small amount of money. This is a decision we made a few years ago and it's working well for us. One of the things we do to cut costs is to make gifts for friends and family. This is a peg bag I made recently. I did one for myself and put a couple of them in the gift cupboard. I'd love to hear from you if you have any suggestions for simple homemade gifts that people love to receive.

For Christmas I made my nieces red velvet riding hood capes. And for their birthdays I made felt finger puppets and afelt cupcake kitNormally I send flowers to my Grandmother on her birthday but if you have a generous flower garden you could give posies to nearby family and friends.

For teenage girls you could make beaded jewellery or buy a cheap hardback notebook and decoupage the cover.

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I know that children read my blog so I always check my links and information to make sure they're family-friendly. I don't publish comments containing any kind of link now because I don't have time to check the links before publishing comments.

WELCOME TO DOWN TO EARTH

Now in my blog's 11th year, I'm still writing about the wonders of a close family and a warm and welcoming home. The subjects are many and varied here and while most of the time I write about simple home life, gardening, knitting and recipes, I also add a sprinkling of my thoughts about ageing, a small black Scottie dog named Gracie, and anything else that rocks my boat. I'm glad you found me.

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"I think one of the useful things about an interest in nature and in walking and looking is a loss of the self. To completely lose yourself is a great pleasure especially if what you do for a living is put yourself up in some way which is psychically tiring. One of the principal joys of birdwatching is that you are being responsive to the world, you’re just another creature. You are the tool of the world. You are not mastering it, or moulding it to your image or any such piffle, you are reminded of what a pipsqueak you are."